Searchers recover body of missing kayaker on Hubbard Creek Lake
By Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Emergency searchers have recovered the body of a missing Stephens County man who disappeared while kayaking on Hubbard Creek Reservoir Sunday evening, Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach said this morning, June 13.
The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, Stephens County Constable and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were at the lake today for the search that started Sunday and continued all day Monday. Dakota Boulevard, 42, and his wife, Mindy, were kayaking on the lake Sunday, June 11, when a thunderstorm hit the lake shortly before 8 p.m. Their kayaks capsized, and Mindy made it to the shore near the Village Inn. But, Dakota never arrived on the shore.
On Monday, searchers found the man’s kayak on what is known as Goat Island, just northeast of Tanglewood Island, according to Roach. His body was found in the lake around 8 a.m. Tuesday, and his family has been notified by the Sheriff.
The Stephens County Justice of the Peace is out of town, so County Judge Michael Roach was on the scene and said Boulevard will be taken to Dallas County for an autopsy. His time of death has been estimated to be 7:40 p.m. Sunday, June 11, the county judge said.
An emergency search crew assembled quickly at the lake on Sunday evening, including the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, the Stephens County Constable, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Sheriff Roach said they used aircraft with thermal imaging to assist in the search and worked until it was too dark to see on Sunday night. The search continued all day Monday without results.
Continued stormy weather caused a slight delay in the search efforts on Monday. “Mid-morning, around 11 o’clock, we had to get off the water for about an hour,” Roach said. “The wind picked up, it was raining and it became a safety hazard for the searchers, so we had to stop the search for about an hour; then we resumed.”
The Boulevards moved to Breckenridge in 2020 and opened the Little Caesars Express pizza take-out location here last year. They have four kids, Lexington, Aiden, Emerson and Desiree, and a grandson, Jackson.
Cutline, top photo: Game Wardens with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department search the waters of Hubbard Creek Reservoir for a missing Stephens County man, who disappeared while kayaking with his wife Sunday evening when a thunderstorm hit the area. His body was recovered early Tuesday morning, June 13. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Editor’s note: This story was updated on June 19, 2023, to correct a date.
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